I think MyFitnessPal made my calorie goal too low... is it?

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UseKnowledge
UseKnowledge Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a 21 year old male, 5'8, and my starting weight was 178. I am currently 168, and myfitnesspal told me that I should be eating 1300 calories a day. I don't really have a problem doing it, and I'm not hungry all day. I was just looking through some other forums and people say 1300 is not enough calories for a male. My BMR is ~1800 calories, so this is a 500 calorie deficit. Also, I've been working out so I think I should up it a bit. Should I just stick with 1300 or eat around 15/1600? Thanks.

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  • MamaDuckN2MamaWow
    MamaDuckN2MamaWow Posts: 31 Member
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    Generally, men should not consume less than 1,500 calories per day.
    Depending on your activity level, you should be eating between 2,000-3,000 calories a day for your age range.
    How many calories were you eating before you started trying to lose weight?
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    go to Google, type "TDEE SCOOBY" into the search box, locate the TDEE SCOOBY page, insert your info, select your appropriate activity level and how you want to lose weight. I would suggest 10-15% deficit. it will give you the calories you need to be alive in a coma (BMR), lose weight as desired, and maintain current weight.

    for a desk job/no activity, it says you need 2200 to maintain and 1870 to lose (at a 15% deficit)
  • bubblygoldfish
    bubblygoldfish Posts: 213 Member
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    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    I'm only 5 feet tall and female, and i'm eating 1300 calories as my base. Check out the IIFYM calculator, use it to check. MFP set my calories too low. When i used the IIFYM calculator, i set it a litte/no exercise, since i wasn't sure how accurate the exercise tracker was. Hope it helps.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    I'm a 21 year old male, 5'8, and my starting weight was 178. I am currently 168, and myfitnesspal told me that I should be eating 1300 calories a day. I don't really have a problem doing it, and I'm not hungry all day. I was just looking through some other forums and people say 1300 is not enough calories for a male. My BMR is ~1800 calories, so this is a 5kcal deficit. Also, I've been working out so I think I should up it a bit. Should I just stick with 1300 or eat around 15/1600? Thanks.
    Eat more.

    1300 is way too low for you.
  • UseKnowledge
    UseKnowledge Posts: 13
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    Generally, men should not consume less than 1,500 calories per day.
    Depending on your activity level, you should be eating between 2,000-3,000 calories a day for your age range.
    How many calories were you eating before you started trying to lose weight?

    I wasn't even keeping track. My guess is maybe around 2300-2500. I was gaining weight pretty fast then.
  • UseKnowledge
    UseKnowledge Posts: 13
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    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    I'm only 5 feet tall and female, and i'm eating 1300 calories as my base. Check out the IIFYM calculator, use it to check. MFP set my calories too low. When i used the IIFYM calculator, i set it a litte/no exercise, since i wasn't sure how accurate the exercise tracker was. Hope it helps.

    This one tells me to eat around 1900. I tried that a while back and I was slowly gaining weight.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
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    TDEE method is fine, but is too complicated for someone setting out on this journey. MFP started me on 1200 calories, which was fine for a while. Then I changed my weekly weight loss target from 2lbs/week to 1lb/week, and my calories went up to about 1550.

    I suggest you check your weekly goal, and make sure you eat back your exercise calories. MFP is designed to work on this basis, and the funky new layout makes this clearer with your daily calorie ticker.
  • UseKnowledge
    UseKnowledge Posts: 13
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    TDEE method is fine, but is too complicated for someone setting out on this journey. MFP started me on 1200 calories, which was fine for a while. Then I changed my weekly weight loss target from 2lbs/week to 1lb/week, and my calories went up to about 1550.

    I suggest you check your weekly goal, and make sure you eat back your exercise calories. MFP is designed to work on this basis, and the funky new layout makes this clearer with your daily calorie ticker.

    TDEE told me to eat a lot ... and I know I will gain weight doing that. I guess I could bump it up to 1500. I just do more of weight lifting, but MyFitnessPal doesnt record that.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    TDEE method is fine, but is too complicated for someone setting out on this journey. ...

    I started with the TDEE about the 3rd day (give or take a day or two). I read the boards and researched as soon as I got here. It's not necesssarily complicated.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    If your tracker is accurate you want to lose 13 more pounds. What is your desired weight loss per week set at? With less to lose setting a 2 lb goal isn't really realistic. Perhaps cutting it back to 1 lb or even .5 lb would give you more to work with. My understanding was that the closer one is to goal and maintaining the more they need to eat. It would be easier to slide into your TDEE goal calories if you don't have to jump from 1300 to 2200.
  • MamaDuckN2MamaWow
    MamaDuckN2MamaWow Posts: 31 Member
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    I've always been told that the safest is to start by going 500 calories less than you are used to consuming when starting weight loss. If you were gaining at 2300+, If I were you, I would set myself around 1800 calories and see what happens.
  • kamccarter
    kamccarter Posts: 7
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    I've had this problem with MFP, and everyone else I know has also had it. They set calorie needs FAR too low. And unless you're of a very small build or have specific dietary needs, no adult should consume fewer than 1500 calories. My suggested calorie intake was 1,200, but I was previously at this weight and consumed 1,715 calories a day and lost over a pound a week. Their numbers are messed up.

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